Friday, August 14, 2009

Combo, Fall Season

The USTA Season has just about run its course. We will keep you updated on events related to Nationals and hopefully Betsie, Tim, Freeman and others will update us with goings-on in Vegas when the time comes. I don't have the bracket in front of me, but I seem to remember that the men's 4.5 team is in the same flight with New England, Mid-Atlantic and Caribbean.

HTA league signups for the fall season are underway. Those of you obsessed with ratings will be happy (or sad?) to know that the fall season will not be included in 2009 ratings calculations at the end of the year. So get out there, work on some new things, and don't worry about being "bumped up."

Also on the horizon is the combo tournament. It's a fun way to play with your friends from other levels. It appears that the 9.5 division will "make" this year, and 7.5 and 8.5 are always popular. The tournament is run over one weekend (Sep. 25-27) and offers a chance to qualify for Sectionals, to be held in October. Email htalera@houstontennis.org for a team number if you are interested.

42 comments:

  1. Hurricane Combo will be tough to beat considering they can pull from 4.0, 4.5 & 5.0

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  2. FOR BEAUMONT LABOR DAY 200 PT. TOURNEY
    50% Discount for returning players from 2008!
    50% Hurricane's Gustov/Ike Discount for 2008 tournament entrants playing the same events in 2009. Discount checks will be waiting for you at check-in.

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  3. Is Combo even competitive? I don't see Austin or San Antonio rosters?

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  4. Yes, combo is very competitive at the sectional level.

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  5. It is the one league tournament that has eluded Freeman's grasp since I've known him. Of course I've been on the last two of his teams so that might be a good reason =P

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  6. What rating do you use when playing in the combo?

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  7. 2008 YE ratings & self-rates are allowed.

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  8. This is changing the subject but here is an idea for those that are unhappy with the computer rating system. What if everyone that is unhappy with their rating or the ratings of other, go and protest their own rating with TTA in Austin at the end of the year. If TTA gets totally overwhelmed, maybe they will do something about the system. Who knows, a lot of these people might succeed and get rated lower. What do you guys think?

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  9. I think a better idea would be for those unhappy with the rating system to propose an alternative that they honestly believe would work better, would be adequately objective, and would not be materially more expensive than the current system. Perhaps a hybrid of the current system and the previous system. Use the computer throughout, largely for cost reasons and because it works pretty well for most of those who play honestly, but at Sectionals and maybe Nationals have verifiers whose objective is to try to identify those who in their judgment clearly must have abused the system somehow. It adds a layer of subjectivity but I am at a loss for other practical, economically feasible, ideas.

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  10. Sorry, I should have signed the above comment.

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  11. The TTA has no control over ratings.

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  12. It looks like the Mixed 9.0 league will be decided by a DQd player. The Mason Creek team will edge out Met Mixed and MP Mixed and Matched by winning a line with Burke Marold who was DQd at 4.5. The USTA needs to change that rule.

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  13. Burke Marold was DQ'ed as a 4.5 and his rating was moved up to 5.0. However his female partners have been Angie Lindloff and Dustin Sadler--both of these ladies are rated 4.0, so this is still a legit 9.0 mixed combination under the old rule. Don't be sad your mixed team is losing, there's always next year.

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  14. He played against Met Mixed and Matched with Emma McDougal (4.5) prior to his DQ.

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  15. If you want to bitch, bitch about that Kim kid playing 4.0. What a joke.

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  16. You stand corrected. They ended up winning for the night 2-1. A reversal of that match would mean Mason Creek stays home.

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  17. hmmm, kim is on the Mason Creek team too. So, we're bitching about the same team dude.

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  18. In fact, Kim played with Holly Lindloff that night against Mixed and Matched.

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  19. because you have some spare change USTA has not gotten from you yet.

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  20. So will Kim stay at 4.0 year end? Sounds kind of weird that a super champ can rate 4.0?

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  21. The only reason he's still 4.0 is because noone has protested him. It's an automatic DQ but the protest must be filed.

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  22. shame on you captains. But, you'd rather bitch and whine about it on the blog

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  23. So let's let every junior Top 50 in the state self rate 4.0. Kim should be DQ'ed for sure!!!

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  24. Is the superchamp question asked in the self rate thing? I thought no super champ could play 4.0 unless it was over 5 years ago. That's a Texas rule so it might not be included in the self rate questionairre.

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  25. The self-rate questionaire provided by the USTA does not account for Super Champs. The Texas Section precludes Super Champs from self-rating below 4.5. This is obviously hard to enforce so it is left entirely to captains to know if a Jr/Super Champ tries to self rate at 4.0 or below.

    Juniors comitted to unranked Div 2/3 team = 4.5
    Juniors comitted to ranked Div 2/3 or unranked Div 1 team = 5.5
    Juniors comitted to ranked Div 1 team = 6.0

    I don't think Texas should handicap their 4.0 teams by requiring Super Champs not playing in college to play 4.5 if the other sections are not doing this.

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  26. To answer everyone's question regarding Kim on Mason Creek's 9.0 team playing as a 4.0: I don't know the kid but if he played Super Champs he has to self-rate at least as a 4.5

    And now that he's in the computer as a Mixed 4.0 he could potentially be a legit 4.0 for 2010. 4.0 Captains get your recruiting hats on come December. Although he would be eligibly for disqualification since it's a mixed rating.

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  27. Anyone playing WTT event this weekend?

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  28. wow, this mixed stuff is pretty funny. Doesn't really look like the season was decided by the DQd player since he was not DQd until after playing with 4.5 woman. Don't the Met Mixed have several players who are now 5.0's and aren't they going to Nationals for their men's league? In looking at the results, John Kim only played one match for them during the season and he lost with partner Holly Lindloff. And what about that Mixed and Matched team? Why didn't they (mixed and matched) report scores for their last 4 matches? Could it be they were waiting to see just how many games were needed to win the season???? hm?? I've heard of this happening, surely not. Stop crying and leave the "old folks" on the Mason Creek team alone. They've earned their trip to Corpus.

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  29. Maybe I'm misreading the Tennis Link info, but I see two "Kim's" that Holly played with, Ki Hyun and John, and they're both rated 4.5. 'Splain Lucy.

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  30. I believe the 2 "Kim's" are father and son. It looks like she play with father in fall league at 9.0 and son in usta league but don't understand the point. who cares?

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  31. Ummm Met Mixed has mid-year players who got bumped to 5.0 but none of their players were DQd meaning they are still eligible to play the rest of the year at 4.5 and play at Nationals. Get your facts straight dude. Burke was DQd. He's ineligible to play 4.5 league for 2009. He was ineligible to finish out the season on his men's 4.5 team. His matches were defaulted so why shouldn't they be defaulted for Mixed also. His match with Emma was a deciding match against Mixed and Matched. BAD rule - USTA needs to change it. The 9.0 Mixed League is a joke this year by allowing MC to advance.

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  32. Luck of the schedule for MC. Had they played Met Mixed and Matched later in the season (just one week later) they would be staying home.

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  33. He was DQ'ed from 4.5 but his matches stand. He didn't get DQ'ed from mixed because he can still play with a 4.0 player and be eligible to play on the team.

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  34. Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

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  35. Love the game, hate the cheaters.

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  36. Mixed is for losers. Stop whining about mixed and play real tennis sometime instead of beating up on old ladies.

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  37. I think Mixed, Combo, Tri-Level doesn't get any respect because those events don't bring out the volume of high-level players so it's just a matter of who is willing to waste a weekend and travel.

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  38. Who wants to go to mixed sectionals in Corpus Christi anyway? I'd rather play the Fall Festival tournament that weeekend.

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